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Edward R. Murrow And Joseph Mccarthy During The Cold War

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Edward R. Murrow strongly disagreed with Joseph McCarthy, a Republican Senator who used his political influence to create a Red Scare of communist influence in the U.S. government during the Cold War. Murrow said, “Anyone who criticizes or opposes McCarthy's methods must be a Communist. And if that be true, there are an awful lot of Communists in this country". McCarthy responded by drumming up support on the home front for participation in the Cold War by using his political influence during the McCarthy-Army hearings. Joseph McCarthy. Americans greatly feared communism for the simple fact that they did not want a communist class system for America and perceived the Soviet’s as a direct threat to the American way of life. Like Murrow, other Americans disagreed with McCarthy’s approach; even more they disagreed with U.S. involvement in the Cold War. The Student Peace Union (SPU) was one of these organizations, that represented an anti-war voice in America, pushing for fewer nuclear weapons in U.S. stockpiles and Soviet stockpiles. Americans, whether they agreed with McCarthy or SPU, feared Soviet dominance in the world and needed to have confidence that on the homefront that felt secure and safe. This feeling of safety and security was accomplished through McCarthy’s campaign and mass media appearances, such as the one on Murrow’s broadcast the evening of __February 4, 1954__. …show more content…

One of those being accused of being a communist was Edward R. Murrow. Murrow disagreed with McCarthy in how used the Red Scare to scare people, and that was when McCarthy considered him a

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McCarthy was the United States senator at the time, and was also the person most associated with the anticommunist crusade. McCarthy made it to where many Americans were afraid to even question him. “He leveled charges of disloyalty at celebrities, intellectuals and anyone who disagreed with his political views, costing many of his victims their reputations and jobs. McCarthy’s reign of terror continued until his colleagues formally denounced his tactics in 1954.” (The Red Menace) McCarthy used the McCarthyism method.

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Sam Roberts in the article “A Decade of Fear” argues that McCarthyism turned Americans against each other. Robert supports his claim by illustrating fear, describing betrayal, and comparing it to other U.S. internal conflicts. The author’s purpose is to point out a vulnerable period in American history in order to demonstrate that Americans felt prey McCarthy’s negative propaganda. The author writes in a cynical tone for an educated audience. I strongly agree with Robert’s claim.

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In the 1940 's and 1950 's, an anti-Communist movement swept the United States of America. Fueled by the anti-Communist actions of Congress, particularly a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy, the movement escalated and many people lost their jobs as a result of various blacklists. Congressional hearings, both in front of HUAC and McCarthy Senate committee were a study in organized persecution. The actions taken during the "Red Scare" were eventually given the general name McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.

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McCarthy manipulated the media, told outrageous stories about the communist conspiracy in the United States, and used his power and America’s fear to besmirch any opponents as “communist sympathizers” to make sure he remained at the top. Actually, most conservative members of Congress supported McCarthy because it helped them gain votes during elections. The majority of McCarthy 's movement attacked liberals and members of the Democratic Party and this aided anyone who was not part of those topics and organizations. Then McCarthy began to target the Army because they wouldn’t favor David Schine, one of his former investigators, who had been drafted in. “Senator Joseph McCarthy began hearings investigating the United States Army, which he charged with being ‘soft’ on communism.

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People were terrified of communism spreading to the United States, so when accusations started floating around everyone would believe them. McCarthy accused people of communist behavior, although many were falsely accused, no one knew better than to think they were guilty because of how scared they were of communism spreading. This resembles how certain characters were accused of witchcraft in The Crucible. The Red Scare caused nationwide hysteria just how the Salem Witch Trials caused hysteria to the people of Salem.

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McCarthy created the uproar of having a ‘witch hunt’ on communists in America. His influence on the people gave him credibility when he accused those innocent people. “He cited 81 cases that day. He skipped several numbers, and for some cases repeated the same flimsy information. He proved nothing, but the Senate called for a full investigation.”(ushistory.org).

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The Soviet Union was on the verge of a nuclear war, so McCarthy put fear in everyone because no one had any idea who was a communist and who was not. He made everyone afraid to trust people, even the friends other had. They were afraid that they would be accused

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With all of the accusations going around, people were forgetting that everyone can have their own opinion. Edward R Murrow, a television host of See It Now bashed McCarthy by saying “’We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty’” (Roberts, 2). Murrow was saying that just because a person disagrees with what the president or a government official says, does not mean they are a communist. The United States has freedom of speech, and citizens can say whatever they want about the government.

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The public was afraid of being targeted as communists. Many would not speak against McCarthyism and instead blamed others of being communists. For this reason, Murrow felt a responsibility towards the public. He expressed that television was not only for entertainment purposes, but to inform citizens of what was happening around the country. Murrow believed that as a television newsman he had the power and control to inform the public.

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his skepticism towards McCarthy. He saw through McCarthy’s tactics and knew he was an opportunist using this petty form of bullying for his own social gains. Around 1950, McCarthy had formed accusations against policy makers and clerks, maintaining that there had to be traitors in the administration. Murrow responded to these accusations by saying that while it might have been a possibility that there were in fact Communists in Washington, those individuals were protected by the Bill of Rights. More importantly, he pointed out that McCarthy’s accusations were unfounded and held no signs of proof (Edwards 102).

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Joseph McCarthy’s claims on communism also intensified the public's concern for Communists in America and it made more people start accusing government officials. The media during this time was also not doing anything to stop the hysteria because they believed that if they stood up to McCarthy they would be accused and suspected of being a Communist and they were too scared to go through with that. We can now see that fear can do awful things to a person’s decision making skills and that people are far more likely to agree with something when they

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In a time of economic prosperity, a rise in the standard of living and rock and roll, also known as the “happy days”, the 1950s were a time looked back on with nostalgia. On the other hand, the 1950s were also met with many problems involving civil rights, the Cold War and McCarthyism. After the end of World War II, Americans came home to jobs available and a period of consensus. Consensus meaning there wasn’t much debate in politics. However tensions quickly rose throughout the nation when Joseph McCarthy made serious accusations about the State Department.

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In the McCarthy era, Americans expressed concern about communist infiltration of union leadership, with 64% in a 1954 Opinion Research Corporation survey believing there were “quite a few” people holding important jobs in unions who worked for the

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Senator Joseph McCarthy was a merciless politician who would be censured by the Senate in 1954 for his false accusations. However, his political journey throughout the country had a significant impact on the American public. Americans let fear override their conscious and allowed a bully to insert panic into their minds. McCarthy’s crusade was powerful and convinced the naive public during a time of war to question their own government without sufficient

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The American people feared the spread of communism and nuclear war in the aftermath of the Second World War, while President Eisenhower addressed these fears by having strong domestic and foreign policies. The fear of communism carved a deep sense of mistrust in American people. They believed anything that was said and blindly followed people who were in political power without any basis of evidence. The fear of communism created a sense of “hysteria” (Document A) within the general public and even in people in government.

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